Friday, 4 February 2005

There was a policeman standing at the top of Surrey Street, where Harold Klein was almost sexually assaulted in Angelica's Grotto. I could see him from my office window, turning cars away. I couldn't see anything happening on Surrey Street, but it seemed an ominous sign.

I spent Wednesday afternoon reviewing the English Department here. No-one called Melissa Bottomley appeared in any of the documentation, but since the last review of the Department seven years ago more than half the staff have changed. I discovered that the only person present at both the review seven years ago and the one this week was me.

Fridays this term are particularly busy. Broken up by moving from room to room, discussing the same poems with different groups of students. It can make SA4quating a problem. In the end I put up my sheet of A4 yellow paper somewhere in College. The quotation was rather short:

KINESIS/ANAPAUSIS

as written on the Paxos Stone in Angelica's Grotto (Bloomsbury 1999, p. 15)

Motion/Rest, or perhaps Go/Stop. A bit like my day.

I could probably tell this story in a different way.

HUGH'S STORY TOLD IN A DIFFERENT WAY

I have not yet read all of Russell Hoban's books. This does, I suspect, put me in a happier position than those who have read them all, because I still have the thrill of discovery of those that I haven't started yet.

Most recently I read Angelica's Grotto, which seems to me the twisted offspring of two earlier novels. The Odilon Redon Pegase Noir, central to the story, was born from the dark blood of Medusa; and of course Harold, once upon a time, was Kleinzeit. It seems to me a book full of things hinted at, but not said (what are Redon, Gustave Moreau and Antonio Carlos Jobim doing together there?); everything left unresolved - it is a novel of unresolution. And those who know it, and note the address at the bottom of this message, can imagine that it had resonances for me.

SA4QE does not have to be site specific, but sometimes perhaps it can be. Having read the book, I was drawn irresistably to one place. After I finished teaching I went through to the English Department. I 'found buff-coloured bricks, pigeonholes, a noticeboard, NO SMOKING, and a perspective of square illuminations in the ceiling' (interrupted by newly installed, and unpopular, fire doors. 'The door of Room 231 had two narrow vertical windows one above the other.' It was empty, with a sole student waiting nearby to talk to a lecturer who was on the phone, with her door open. I stuck my yellow A4 notice to the door, took a picture of it, and made my escape.

The choice of quotation was, I suppose, self-indulgent: a Classicist finding something classical. It was printed 'in black ink, in Greek letters':

KINESIS/ANAPAUSIS

[Angelica's Grotto p. 15]

But to give the sheet a chance of a slight after life, I added below, in Caslon (a College official font):

The Politics of Language, Room 231

[Angelica's Grotto p. 156]

I will see if it is still there on Monday.

Today would have been Harold Klein's birthday. It is more important that it is Russ's. Happy 80th!

Maybe this all sounds a bit too contrived. In which case there is always another way of telling it.

1 comment:

It seems a little tenuous to say that Angelica is the offspring, twisted or not, of either - I see no reason why the common syllable 'klein', meaning only small, indicates that the male lead is Kleinzeit: klein zeit [meaning 'time'] would indicate that he is klein plus zeit, not klein minus zeit. (But who is older than who? After all, it probably isn't a real name, let alone a word.)

As for Medusa's blood, I don't see how that links in The Medusa Frequency as a novel, just as a title. Probably no more to be found than in connecting this Angelica with the new(ish) one, Angelica Lost and Found...

SA4QE is now on russellhoban.org!

The Slickman A4 Quotation Event (SA4QE) is an annual literary activity in which fans of the novelist Russell Hoban celebrate his birthday on 4 February by placing favourite quotations from his books in public places.

SA4QE posts are now being recorded over at the official Russell Hoban website www.russellhoban.org. See you there! In the meantime, enjoy the huge archive of quotations, reports and photos on this site dating from 2002 when the event started, up to and including 2012.

New Russell Hoban website launched!

Updated 21/10/12: A new website devoted to Russell Hoban was launched last month. Containing a biography, information pages on the books and scores of essential links, russellhoban.org is the definitive guide to all things Hobanesque.The site also has a forum and is inviting submissions of original content such as essays. Registered users can also add to a "gallery of editions" which aims to crowd-source a comprehensive list of all editions of Russell Hoban's books.

Also, on 4 October 2012 Walker published a beautiful new children's book. Rosie's Magic Horse is illustrated by the legendary Quentin Blake (with whom Russ had formerly collaborated on Trouble on Thunder Mountain, among other titles) and tells the story of a little girl and her collection of ice-lolly sticks, which dream of being a horse.

russell hoban news

Russell Hoban's last novel Angelica Lost and Found was published in November 2010 and is available from Amazon and all good bookshops. There were good reviews of the book in the Guardian and Independent and an excellent interview with Russell Hoban in the Scotsman, as well as a revealing audio interview at Tim Haigh Reads Books.

2010-2011 activity

Between late 2010 and early 2011 Russell Hoban took part in an almost unprecedented number of media activities to promote his new book Angelica Lost and Found and the 30th anniversary of his most famous novel, Riddley Walker. SA4QE blogged about all of these events and this site contains some exclusive content from them:

On 15 February 2011 Russ took part in a brilliant conversation with Will Self at the British Library about Riddley Walker; SA4QE has a full multimedia report including a transcript, photos and a video of Self reading a classic passage from the book.

Between 29 September and 16 October 2011 the Trouble Puppet Theatre Company in Austin, Texas staged a version of Riddley Walker. Russell Hoban was supportive of the production. Details can be found on the Trouble Puppet site. There is currently talk of the show touring to other venues in the US.

Russell Hoban reader survey results are in!

Save Gaby's Deli

The London restaurant Gaby's Deli, which is mentioned in Russell Hoban's books The Bat Tattoo and Linger Awhile, is under threat. The landlords want to close it and, reportedly, replace it with a chain restaurant. Give their Facebook page a like or sign their petition.

Still available - the 2005 Russell Hoban Convention booklet

In 2005 the first international convention for Russell Hoban fans took place in London, and was marked by the publication of a fantastic 48-page booklet featuring exclusive contributions from innumerable fans and associates including novelist David Mitchell and actress Glenda Jackson. A wonderful memento of the event, it's also a beautiful collector's item and must-have for any Hoban fan. Although in limited supply, copies of the booklet are still available at £6.00 each plus p&p. Order direct from the Russell Hoban Some-Poasyum website.

SA4QE 2011

Russell Hoban turned 86 on 4 February 2011 and fans celebrated in traditional style by leaving quotes from his books in public places. Browse their quotes here. The Russell Hoban community group The Kraken sent Russ a birthday gift of The Kraken Rum. Read a report about this at the Fantastic Reads blog.

Riddley Walker SA4QE special

To celebrate 30 years in print of Russell Hoban's most famous novel Riddley Walker, SA4QE broke with its February tradition and conducted an extraordinary SA4QE on 5 November 2010 in which participants shared their favourite quotes from the book. This site was updated throughout November 2010 with the quotes submitted.

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